Sue Margaret Cousins (January 26, 1905 – July 30, 1996) was an American editor, journalist, and writer. Cousins was a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, the

Authors Guild The Authors Guild is the United States' oldest and largest professional organization for writers and provides advocacy on issues of free expression and copyright protection. Since its founding in 1912 as the Authors League of America, it has coun ...

, the

Texas Institute of Letters The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit Honor Society founded by William Harvey Vann in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most resp ...

, the Philosophical Society of Texas, the San Antonio Conservation Society, and a trustee of the Wildflower Foundation. Some of her works were published under the pseudonyms William Masters, Mary Parrish, and Avery Johns.

Early life and education

Sue Margaret Cousins was born in

Munday, Texas Munday ( ) is a city in Knox County, Texas, Knox County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,246 at the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census. Geography Munday is located at the junction of U.S. Route 277#Texas, U.S. Highway 277, Texas S ...

, on January 26, 1905, to parents Walter Henry and Sue Margaret Reeves Cousins. Her father was a pharmacist who published the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

based Southern Pharmaceutical Journal. She has a brother named Walter Henry Cousins Jr, a niece named Cynthia Cousins Lodge, and a nephew named Walter Henry Cousins III. Cousins develop an interest in literature at an early age. She made her first publication (a

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

) at the age of 16. Cousins grew up in Texas and graduated from the now defunct

Dallas High School (Texas) Dallas High School was a state school, public secondary school in Dallas, Texas. It is the alma mater of several notable Americans, including former United States Attorney General, U.S. attorney general and Supreme Court justice Tom C. Clark. Bu ...

(formerly named Bryant Street High School) in 1922. She went on to pursue a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

from the College of Liberal Arts at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. Cousins joined the

Alpha Chi Omega Alpha Chi Omega (, also known as Alpha Chi or A Chi O) is a national women's fraternity founded at DePauw University in 1885. As of 2023, it has more than 140 active collegiate and 170 active alumnae chapters in the United States and has initiat ...

fraternity during her time in college. She graduated with her B.A. in 1926, winning the D.A. Frank Poetry Prize in the process.

Career

Cousins began her literary career as an apprentice with her father's pharmaceutical journal after graduation from college. She remained with the organization until 1937, being promoted to associate editor and editor in 1930 and 1935, respectively. Cousins moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1937 to pursue opportunities with the

Pictorial Review The ''Pictorial Review'' was an American women's magazine published from 1899 to 1939. Based in New York, the ''Pictorial Review'' was first published in September 1899. The magazine was originally designed to showcase dress patterns of German ...

. The magazine ceased publication in 1939, and Cousins went on to work a copy editor role with Hearst Magazines, Inc. While at Hearst, Cousins served as the managing editor of the magazine publications ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment ...

'' and ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. The publication ...

''. In 1961, she became a senior editor at

Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...

, and in 1970 she was briefly a special editor at

Holt, Rinehart & Winston Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the ...

. She later worked as fiction and book editor for ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th centur ...

''.

Works

Cousins wrote over 200 short stories, including "The Life of Lucy Gallant," which was adapted into a

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

in 1955. Some of her other notable works include: ''Uncle Edgar and the Reluctant Saint (1948)''
''Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia (1952)''
''We Were There at the Battle of the Alamo (1958)''
''Thomas Alva Edison (1965) ''
''A Christmas Gift (1952)''
''Traffic with Evil (1957) ''
''The Boy in the Alamo (1983)'' In addition, Cousins also edited the anthology ''Love and Marriage'' (1961) and the memoirs of President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

and First Lady

Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She had previously been Second Lady of the United States from 1961 to 196 ...

. Cousins also served as a ghost writer for

Margaret Truman Mary Margaret Truman Daniel (February 17, 1924 – January 29, 2008) was an American classical soprano, actress, journalist, radio and television personality, writer, and New York socialite. She was the only child of President Harry S. Truman a ...

's ''Souvenir (1956)''.

Retirement and death

Cousins retired in 1973 and moved to

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. In 1986, she was inducted into the

Texas Women's Hall of Fame The Texas Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1984 by the Governor's Commission on Women. The honorees are selected biennially from submissions from the public. The honorees must be either native Texans or a resident of Texas at the time of t ...

. She died in San Antonio on July 30, 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousins, Margaret 1905 births 1996 deaths University of Texas at Austin alumni 20th-century American women writers American book editors American women editors American women short story writers 20th-century American short story writers People from Munday, Texas Writers from Texas